MHA Universe, Earth, Japan, Musutafu.
{"Is everyone ready?"} Hizashi shouted into his microphone, causing everyone in the Sports Festival stadium to wince. {"We've finally reached the moment that everyone is waiting for! Up next is the final match of the first-Year's Sports Festival! Now, Are! You! Ready~~~~~~~~~~?"}
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
Despite their ears ringing, nearly every member of the audience cheered loudly. Though, some of them were holding their hands over their ears to block out the sound. Still, the excitement in the air was electrifying.
{"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"} Hizashi shouted.
{"Stop messing around."} Shota said sternly, cutting off Hizashi's usual antics. {"Just introduce the participants. And do it normally. You're too loud and my ears hurt."}
{"Tch! Fine."} Hizashi, sounding as if the wind was let out of his sails, replied at a much lower volume. {"First, he's dominated the Sports Festival so far from the first event all the way until now. Will he make it a clean sweep? Or will he fall short at the finish line? He's Class 1-A's class representative, the record holder for the highest score in the entrance exam's history, the aspiring Hero who plays with space like kids play with toys, The Prince of the Void, Soramoto Tatsuo-Kun~~~~~~~~~!"}
For the last time today, Tatsuo entered the stadium. And just like every other time Hizashi used the nickname he came up with, his smile was stiffer than usual. Even so, he waved to the crowd enthusiastically.
"Man... I really hope Tatsuo never gets a chance to fight Present Mic." Alfonzo said while shaking his head. "Because if he does, Mic is gonna end up lying in bed for at least a month."
"Yeah, the kid is pissed." Rumi added in an understanding tone.
"I don't think that name is so bad, though." Ryuko said while staring at Tatsuo with a slight blush. "He definitely has the demeanor to pull it off."
"Rawr~~~!" Rumi mimicked the roar of a large feline. "The cougar is on the prowl."
Ryuko's blush deepened immediately. With both embarrassment and anger, she spun to face Rumi, clearly ready to start a fight. However, before she could do anything, Alfonzo stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder.
"If you wanna fight, wait until after the festival ends." Alfonzo said while trying to hide a smile. "If you two start now, T's match is gonna get cancelled. And I really don't wanna have to deal with his sulking later when we get home."
"Tch! Fine." Ryuko, after a taking a few moments to calm down, clicked her tongue before turning away from Rumi.
{"And his opponent..."} Hizashi, unaware of the Heroine cat-fight that was just averted, continued. {"The most explosive student in first-year. He's got all the power needed to take the crown. And it looks like he's willing and able to use it on his opponent. Ladies and gentlemen, let's give it up for Bakugo Katsuki-Kun~~~~~~~~~!"}
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
Like Tatsuo a moment before, Katsuki also entered the stadium to the crowd's cheering. However, unlike Tatsuo, Katsuki was not smiling at all. Instead, there was an intensely focused expression on his face.
'Oh, he's really serious, huh?' Tatsuo thought to himself while watching Katsuki approach the ring. 'I guess he's gonna be going all out in this fight. Good. I hope you don't disappoint me, Bakugo.'
While Tatsuo was thinking, Katsuki reached the ring, completely ignoring the crowd. Instead, he only stared into Tatsuo's eyes, ready to show everyone who the real number one student at U.A. is.
In response, Tatsuo met Katsuki's stare with that same smile on his face.
'I hate that smile.' Katsuki thought to himself. 'I'm gonna blow it right off that pretty boy bastard's face.'
"Pause." Alfonzo muttered from his spot in the audience.
"What did you say?" Rumi asked as she shot a side-eye at Alfonzo.
"Don't worry about it." Alfonzo replied while shaking his head. "I just thought I heard something. But it was probably just my imagination."
Shooting Alfonzo another side-eye, Rumi eventually returned her attention to the ring. And at that moment, Nemuri, raising her microphone to her mouth, took a step forward to address the entire stadium.
"This is the final match of the first-year Sports Festival." Nemuri said, her tone much more solemn than at any other point during the festival. "Are both competitors ready?"
Receiving nods from both Tatsuo and Katsuki, Nemuri continued.
"Then, let the match..." Nemuri said as she raised her whip over her head.
*Crack!*
"Begin!"
As soon as the signal was given, Katsuki, without using his explosions to propel himself, charged forward with cold determination on his face. At the same time, Tatsuo took his fighting stance, waiting for Katsuki to enter his range.
Then, despite Katsuki being the first to move, Tatsuo took the initiative.
*Smack!*
With his longer reach, Tatsuo, as soon as Katsuki was close enough, shot a jab at Katsuki's chin. And Katsuki reacted quickly, swatting Tatsuo's punch to his left with his right hand. He then followed the momentum, stepping in with his right foot and launched his elbow at Tatsuo's left jaw.
*Bang!*
Pulling his left arm back quickly, Tatsuo raised his shoulder to receive Katsuki's elbow. He then stepped forward and swung a right hook at Katsuki's ribs.
*Boom!*
Lowering his left hand, Katsuki caught Tatsuo's fist. At the same time, he triggered a relatively weak explosion. One that was not strong enough to cause any real damage. Instead, it was enough to fling Tatsuo's arm back, disrupting his stance and balance. At the same time, the explosion flung Katsuki's left arm towards his right side.
*Swish!*
And with the extra rotational force, Katsuki flung a spinning elbow at the right side of Tatsuo's face. However, Tatsuo was able to react quickly, ducking under the incoming attack. He then sprung up, closing the distance between himself and Katsuki before wrapping his arms around Katsuki from behind.
"This better not be everything." Tatsuo said as he tensed his back muscles in preparation to suplex Katsuki. "Otherwise, I'm gonna be really disappointed."
"Fuck off!" Katsuki replied as he threw his hands up over his head.
*Boom!* x 2
Then, just as Tatsuo started to lift Katsuki to suplex him, Katsuki released an explosion from each hand, forcing Tatsuo's attack to an abrupt stop. AT the same time, Katsuki's arms were forced down by his explosion. And with the added force, he slammed his elbows into Tatsuo's arms.
"Urgh!" Tatsuo grunted as his grip loosened momentarily.
*Boom!* x 2
Taking advantage of Tatsuo's loosened grip, Katsuki threw his arms back, his palms facing behind him and Tatsuo. Then, he triggered two more explosions, sending himself rocketing forward, completely breaking Tatsuo's grip.
Then, instead of resetting his stance once he got some distance, Katsuki raised his altitude slightly, soaring across the ring at high speed before adjusting his explosions to circle around. Meanwhile, Tatsuo reset his own stance, waiting for Katsuki's approach.
*Swish!*
Once in range, Katsuki, with added rotational force from his explosions, whipped his right leg at Tatsuo, causing Tatsuo to duck the kick to evade. However, just as quickly as Tatsuo ducked, he sprung upward, pushing his palms against Katsuki's thigh, sending him spinning away at an odd angle.
Yet, it did not take long for Katsuki to regain his balance in the air. However, before he could locate Tatsuo again, his instincts kicked in before he cut off his [Quirk] and raised his arms in a cross over his head.
*Bang!*
In the next instant, Katsuki was shot down at the ring as a result of an axe kick from Tatsuo, who [Blinked] to just above where Katsuki stopped.
And on the way down towards the ring, Katsuki noticed Tatsuo disappear from where he was falling.
"Damn it!" Katsuki growled as he jerked his body to send himself into a spin.
*Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
And as Katsuki spun, he released a long series of explosions from each hand, whipping up the wind in the surroundings into a frenzy. And through the explosions, he thought he caught sight of Tatsuo for an instant. But it was so quick that he was unsure. At least, that was until the next time he caught sight of him in the ring.
Currently, as Tatsuo was not expecting Katsuki to make such a maneuver, when he [Blinked] after sending Katsuki downwards, he intended to knock him back up into the air with another kick. But with Katsuki exploding everything around him, Tatsuo found himself caught in the blast.
Looking up at Katsuki, Tatsuo's smile was finally gone. Though, he was not feeling particularly pressured, the fact that he was covered in burns was quite the surprise. But more important than that...
'That bastard destroyed the hair tie Kasumi-Neechan gave me.' Tatsuo thought to himself as he started getting angry. 'Alright, I guess it's time to stop playing around.'
Seeing Tatsuo's expression, a vicious smile spread across Katsuki's face. He then, while maintaining his rotational force, reoriented himself to point towards Tatsuo. Then, he increased the power of his explosions, whipped up the winds to an even greater degree while shooting towards Tatsuo's location at high speed.
As a result of Katsuki's high speed rotation, a small tornado was formed around him as he traveled through the air.
"[Howitzer Impact]!" Katsuki shouted as he drew near to Tatsuo while triggering a bigger explosion.
*Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
As he shouted, Katsuki released the largest explosion since the beginning of the Sports Festival. And to everyone's shock and awe, the explosion resulted in a flaming cyclone shooting high into the sky.
With the power of such an explosion, the entirety of the audience felt the shockwave that spread from the point of detonation. Luckily, there were quite a few Heroes in the audience who were able to mitigate the effects before they could harm the crowd.
Though that did not stop the entire Sports Festival stadium from shaking. Nor did it do anything to blow away the large dust cloud that was kicked up when Katsuki's [Howitzer Impact] hit the ring. It did, unsurprisingly, result in the entire crowd falling into stunned silence as they never expected a first-year student to have such power.
{"That! Was! Incredible!"} Hizashi shouted, breaking the silence in the stadium. {"To think Bakugo-Kun was hiding such power. He's definitely going to be one of the top Heroes in the future!"}
{"Although I can't deny that Bakugo's future is bright..."} Shota added in his usual tone. {"... Bakugo is more than just the power of his [Quirk]. In fact, his [Quirk] alone is nowhere near powerful enough to cause an explosion like that."}
{"Really?"} Hizashi asked, playing along for the crowd's sake. {"Then, how did he do it?"}
{"It's actually thanks to the power of science."} Shota replied. {"Because despite the way he usually acts, Bakugo-Kun is one of the students in Class 1-A with the best grades in both theoretical and practical classes."}
{"That still doesn't explain how he did it."} Hizashi shot back.
{"Right."} Shota said in his usual flat tone. {"Do you remember when he made himself spin before creating the last explosion?"}
{"Yeah."} Hizashi replied. {"It was a pretty cool looking build up for his big move."}
{"Although I can't deny that, there was more to it than that."} Shota said. Then, after a short, dramatic pause, he continued. {"The rotations he did before the final detonation had the effect of concentrating high amounts of oxygen around him."}
{"Ah!"} Hizashi exclaimed in understanding. {"And when you add a spark to high concentrations of oxygen, all that oxygen goes boom!"}
{"And Bakugo-Kun added more than just a spark to all that oxygen."} Shota added. {"And I'm sure everyone saw the result."}
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
Hearing the commentator's explanation, the crowd was finally snapped out of their silence. The cheers they unleashed were nearly on par with the force of Katsuki's explosion, causing the stadium to seemingly shake once again.
"What the hell?"
When they heard that shout, the crowd fell silent once again, turning their attention back to the ring that was still shrouded in dust. However, it did not take long for the dust to settle. And when it did, they were just as surprised as the person who shouted, Katsuki, when they saw Tatsuo standing just to Katsuki's right with his hands tucked casually into his pockets.
"That was pretty strong, Bakugo." Tatsuo said calmly. "You've really been working hard. I'm impressed."
"How the hell are you not in a million pieces?" Katsuki asked through ragged breathing while he stood hunched over with his arms hanging weakly.
"Were you actually trying to kill me?" Tatsuo asked with an exaggerated expression of surprise. "That's not very Heroic, Bakugo."
"Cut the shit, you pretty boy bastard!" Katsuki shouted angrily. "I know you can open those strange portals to redirect attacks. But that explosion should have hit you from all sides. There's no way you could have come out of that without taking damage."
"And who told you I can only open tears in space in one direction?" Tatsuo asked with an eyebrow raised. "Just like you, I come up with new ways to use my [Quirk], too. Don't think just because you're moving forward that I've stopped to wait for you to catch up."
Though he gritted his teeth at Tatsuo's words, there was nothing Katsuki could say to refute them. On top of that, if Tatsuo had actually stopped and been happy with where he was at the beginning of the school year, Katsuki would have been disappointed and ended up looking down on him. Still, the fact that Tatsuo was still stronger was not a good feeling for someone who so badly wanted to be number one.
However, if Katsuki knew the real way that Tatsuo was able to avoid taking damage from his [Howitzer Impact], Tatsuo was not sure how he would react.
'If he knew that I could phase through attacks like that as long as my stamina can hold up, I wonder what Bakugo's face would look like.' Tatsuo thought to himself while looking down at Katsuki. 'He wouldn't just give up, would he?'
"Anyway, can you keep going?" Tatsuo asked nonchalantly. "Or should we call it here?"
"Shut the hell up, you pretty boy bastard!" Katsuki shouted angrily. "I haven't lost yet."
Hearing that, Tatsuo only shook his head before tilting it to the side to avoid a right straight.
*Bang!*
"Gah!"
At the same time, Tatsuo threw a punch that landed on Katsuki's solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. Even so, Katsuki did not fall, mustering his strength, he tried to kick Tatsuo in his torso.
But Tatsuo reacted quickly, lowering his center of gravity, Then, like he did before, Tatsuo pushed Katsuki's kicking leg upwards. On top of that, he swept his own leg at Katsuki's supporting leg, knocking him off his feet.
"Damn it!" Katsuki growled as he tried to push himself off the ring.
However, before he could do so, Tatsuo pressed a knee into the center of Katsuki's chest while pointing his right index and middle fingers, glowing with the midnight purple light of his [Spatial Slash], at Katsuki's throat.
"You lose." Tatsuo said calmly. "It was a good fight, though."
Once again, the sound of Katsuki's teeth grinding together could be heard. However, he did not speak, only staring at Tatsuo angrily. And that situation lasted for the next few seconds.
yet, after those few seconds, Katsuki dropped his head to the ring and looked away with resignation.
"You... win..." Katsuki spat out, sounding as if it took everything he had left to admit his defeat.
*Crack!*
"Winner by surrender!" Nemuri shouted into her microphone after slapping her whip against the stage. "And the winner of this year's First-Year Sports Festival! The undisputed winner of all three events, Soramoto Tatsuo-Kun!"